Shafer: Murdoch lied to the FT

Slate.com media critic Jack Shafer writes that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch lied to the Financial Times in his bid to convince Dow Jones & Co. owners to sell the Wall Street Journal’s parent company to him.

Shafer wrote, “Murdoch pillories the truth on Page One of today’s Financial Times. ‘Murdoch denies Beijing kowtow as Dow Jones rhetoric hots up’ gives the News Corp. mogul a forum to rebut allegations that he would be a poor steward for the Dow Jones-owned Wall Street Journal because of his history of licking Chinese boots.

“Anti-Murdoch critics always cite his 1994 decision to pull BBC News from his Star TV satellite channel in China. They say the move was designed to placate the Chinese, who disliked the BBC’s critical news and documentary broadcasts.”

Shafer then provides a point-by-point rebuttal of what Murdoch told the FT compared to what he has said in the past. Frankly, it’s damning stuff.

Read more here.